1–What is the title of your latest release? ONE NIGHT WITH AN EARL 2–What is it about? I’ve always wanted to write a diverse historical romance. ONE NIGHT WITH AN EARL features a Middle Eastern heroine and a duty-bound earl. Ana—short for Anahit—is the daughter of an Arabic scholar. Ana’s diverse background is based on my own family. Here’s a blurb: Ana Gardner is determined to lose her virginity before her thirtieth birthday. She’s no stranger to fake identities, having posed as a chaperone since the scandal that destroyed her titled family. So she dons a mask, changes into a low-cut red gown, and attends the city’s most elite brothel, the Silver Chalice. Oliver Bedford, the imposing Earl of Drake, is only at the Silver Chalice to appease his debauched friends—until he spots Lady Scarlet. She’s refreshing…and a complete mystery. Certain she’s a lady in disguise, Oliver is determined to learn her identity, but she eludes him at every turn. The night with Oliver was unforgettable. But when he arrives at her employer’s home, she’s horrified to discover her lover is the Earl of Drake, the son of the man responsible for her father’s death and subsequent family ruin. And…

The last time, there had been only one at the door to take coats. Yet as she moved further into the bar, she saw why they had brought more in. The bar was the busiest Harriet had ever seen…well…anywhere. The dance floor was still there and the couples dancing managed to swing around without colliding with anyone, a skill Harriet was sure she didn’t possess. She was used to open spaces for her dancing. People were standing around chatting on the edge of the dance floor and at the bar, and others were crammed around tables far too small for their parties. “Is it usually like this on a Tuesday?” Harriet whispered as she followed Charlie through the crowds, her hand in his to avoid getting lost. “No, but it’s usually like this when they have a performance,” Charlie answered as he led her upstairs. It was only five or six steps, but it was enough to make it easier to see the stage. “So, they’re all here for Rosalie?” He grinned at her as they sat down. “Yes and no. They’re not here for Rosalie, specifically, but they are here to see her and the other girls she sings…

I would be willing to bet that everything you think you know about queer history is wrong. Actually, I would be willing to bet that you were never taught queer history to begin with, especially not in school. So how is it possible that there is an entire, emerging and thriving sub-genre of Historical Romance about a part of History that never existed? Because love has always been love, no matter what a small handful of historians writing in the mid-20th-century might have wanted people to believe. What’s this? Historians are biased in the way they interpret and report History? They’ve swept a bunch of details under the carpet to advance a particular narrative that denigrates an entire demographic? No! Say it ain’t so! In fact, it’s true. The notion that, prior to the Stonewall Riots of 1969, all gay men were closeted, ashamed of themselves, isolated, and that they would be instantly put to death if they came out is a deliberate distortion, sold to the public by people with an agenda. The truth is that homosexuality in all its forms has been much more widely accepted throughout history than most of us were taught. Actual, academic historians like…

A VIEW MOST GLORIOUS, the third book in my American Wonders Collection, is set on my beloved Mt. Rainier, which I can see from my backyard on good days. The historical romance features a feisty heroine with a noble cause and a hero as solid as the mountain. A – Ability to climb, something Coraline Baxter, my heroine, doesn’t have. * V – Votes for women. That’s the reason she’s willing to try to reach the top of a mountain. I – Impossible. That’s her mother’s opinion of the plan. E – Everything. Because that’s what is at stake, not just votes but Cora’s future. W – Wedding to a wealthy man. Because that’s what her mother has planned if Cora fails. * M – Mt. Rainier, her goal O – Over hill and dale, her route S – Summit, her aspiration T – Trust, hard to come by, necessary to climb * G – Guide. The man she needs at her side to see her safely to the top, my hero, Nathan Hardee. L – Love. Something they didn’t expect to find along the way. O – Overachiever. Nathan sees that in Cora. R – Respect. What they gain…

The Palais Garnier sat fat and contented after its opening night. The final trickle of theatergoers making their way from the building had stopped, and women with scarves tied around their heads pushed brooms and mops across the front steps. The light from the theater, which had poured golden and fizzy like champagne at the beginning of the night, was slowly being extinguished, one window at a time. On a cold, iron bench, Benedict stared up at the single room at the very top of the building. It was still lit—a pale, watery light that spread mere feet across the domed roof beyond its windows. She wouldn’t be there. He doubted she could even climb the stairs after tonight’s performance, with her hip in that condition. She’d danced perfectly tonight. No one would have noticed the injury—even he had sensed rather than seen it. He didn’t know how she was dancing on it. The pain must be unimaginable. Perfect. A strangely unpleasant word. He shivered and pulled his coat closer. After the performance, he and Victor and Camille had gone to a late supper, and then to a bar. After the three had drunk several bottles of champagne (and two…

1–What is the title of your latest release? A COWBOY CHRISTMAS LEGEND  2–What is it about? Once a former Texas Ranger, Sam Legend has retreated from family, friends–and life–and settled in the northernmost reaches of the Texas Panhandle. He’s unable to come to terms over the loss of his young wife and throws himself into a new venture of forging knives. All he wants is to be left alone and forget all about any happy celebration, most of all Christmas. But Cheyenne Ronan refuses to let him. She sees his wounded soul and is driven to try to help him. Christmas is no time to be alone, wallowing in misery. Beneath his long hair and unkept appearance is a man worth saving and she’s just the woman to do that. But she has secrets of her own. As Christmas approaches, they have to work together to put another broken family back together and find Christmas is filled with miracles and unexpected love. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  The starkness of the Panhandle with it’s harsh winters and heavy snows seemed the perfect place for a man to disappear into. It has high mesas, sweeping vistas, and is filled with deep ravines and gullies. I lived there for a…

As a former history teacher, I enjoy the research aspect when plotting and writing my Regency, Medieval, & Western historical romances. I have researched topics such as falconry, herbs, archery, the waltz, dime novels, food, and clothing of the various eras I write in. I can tell you the correct way to address a duke and the different positions men rode driving cattle to market. My recent Lawmen of the West series made for uncovering some fascinating facts, though! For Ballad Beauty, I visited the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame Museum in Waco, Texas (after a stop at Magnolia Bakery, of course). I viewed different kinds of weapons and uniforms on display and recorded the oath each potential Ranger took. I also researched Irish ballads for this romance, as the heroine was tracking a treasure her Irish father had hidden. He provided clues to its location using songs he sang to her as a child. Blind Faith had me studying bullet wounds and blindness, which my US marshal suffered during a mission to rescue a kidnapped senator and his son, while I delved into 19th-century painting since my heroine was a landscape artist. I like to think she was just…

Thanks to Fresh Fiction for having me today and for providing me with this interesting challenge: use the letters in my title to describe HIGHLAND THIEF, book five in The Sons of Gregor MacLeod series. Okay, here goes… H is for Hot Highlanders—five of them, to be exact! These strong Highland lairds and foster brothers are left reeling when they meet the sassy women who finally bring them to their knees! I is for Injustice. The lairds fight injustice to bring peace to the Highlands. G is for Gregor MacLeod. Twenty years ago, Gregor defeated his enemies and fostered their sons—Darach, Lachlan Callum, Gavin, and Kerr—bonding them to him and to each other, thereby honoring his wife’s dying wish: to bring peace to the Highlands. H is for History. Set in 1453, Highland Thief brings medieval Scotland to life. L is for Laird Kerr MacAlister. Kerr is the hero of Highland Thief, and he intends to marry Isobel MacKinnon…even if his bride-to-be doesn’t intend to marry him. A is for Annoyed, which is how Kerr makes Isobel feel most of the time. Of course, it doesn’t help that Kerr deliberately riles her…and she deliberately riles him right back. N is for Never…

1–What is the title of your latest release? The Duke Who Loved Me 2–What is it about? Circumstances showing a pair who have known each other for years that they belong together, despite obstacles. Particularly the duke, in this case. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  It includes the house of an aristocratic hoarder. The deceased previous duke was eccentric, to say the least. 4–How did your heroine surprise you?  She was tempted by the idea of becoming a princess. 5–Why will readers love your hero?  Besides being a drop-dead gorgeous duke, he learns a great deal about himself, the heroine, and the inequities of society and appreciates the chance to do so. 6–What was one of your biggest challenges while writing this book (spoiler-free, of course!)?  Showing how two people who have known each other for a long time can realize they are in love. 7–Do you look forward to or do you dread the revision process?  I like it. I often learn interesting things about the characters and story in that stage. 8–What’s your favorite snack to have on hand while writing?  Tea and cookies! 9–Where would you go for an ideal writer’s retreat? …

1–What is the title of your latest release? I’M ONLY WICKED WITH YOU. It’s the third book in the Palace of Rogues series. 2–What is it about? Hugh Cassidy is the battle-hardened son of a bastard, raised in the wilds of New York. Lady Lillias Vaughn is the sheltered, blue-blooded darling of the London broadsheets, destined to marry a duke. Their worlds collide at The Grand Palace on the Thames, a boarding house near the docks—and the war between them ignites when Hugh catches her smoking a cheroot and tattles on her to the Earl of Vaughn, her father. While their mutual attraction is incendiary and unwelcome…they’re absolutely at its mercy. But little by little, spark by spark, they begin to learn truths and vulnerabilities in each other that no one else in the world has ever uncovered. When their inevitable soul-searing indiscretion threatens to destroy their futures, Hugh comes up with a plan to unravel their entanglement…and the brutal truth is the best way to love her might be to break his own heart. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book? Everything! I’m having the best time writing the stories set at The Grand Palace on…